Vantec AeroFlow FX 92

Introduction:

Recently Vantec sent TechwareLabs the AeroFlow FX 92. The AeroFlow FX 92 is Vantec's mid range CPU cooler for the Intel LGA 775/478 & AMD AM2/754/939/940 sockets. This cooler is designed as a high performance CPU cooler, the ultimate goal being light weight, powerful, and quiet. It attempts to do this with a "Premium copper heat-pipe direct touch (HDT) cooler with 92mm PWM Fan. The heat sink itself is loaded with aluminum fins with three, 8mm in diameter heat pipes that directly connect with the CPU.

Utilizing a 92mm fan has some pro's and con's for this cooler. Usually coolers employing a 92mm fan will be louder than their 120mm equivilants at the same CFM airflow. The benefit to 92mm fans and their attached heatsinks are that they are generally smaller in their form factor than their 120mm larger brethren. This usually leads to an easier install. Generally speaking the original 60mm based coolers were the loudest, 80mm were better but still got quite loud, 120mm based coolers provide excellent cooling and are quiet but often difficult to install because of their size. In the end 92mm coolers tend to represent the best of both worlds, they provide good cooling at a low noise and are still small enough to install with ease. Keep this in mind when purchasing your heatsink.

Packaging:

The AeroFlow FX 92 came in a small box with the cooler itself , a small syringe of thermal cement, and several small brackets for the various sockets that the cooler supports, the AeroFlow also comes with a small instruction book, this book is pretty useful with detailed instructions on how to use the various mounting solutions. The thermal paste is pretty useless, when I opened it most of it was very thick and didn't spread very well. while I am on the topic of the thermal paste I noticed that the instructions don't say anything about how to apply their thermal paste, which for a new user would be very useful information. Overall I would strongly recommend using Artic Silver 5 , Follow the instructions and you should have absolutely no problem with mounting this cooler successfully.